Not So Bad After All
by InsertACreativeNameHere
Summary: Two-shot. Modern AU. Astrid knows that agreeing to go on a date with Steven Jorgenson wasn't a very good idea. Especially after the said date didn't come and left her to freeze to death. Good thing that someone else won't let it happen. Just some fluffy hiccstrid.
1. Not So Bad After All

**Hello there!**

 **Thank you for clicking on my story. Quick info: it's a modern AU one-shot. The teens are in the last year of high school so about 17-18 years old.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own How to train your dragon – books, movies, nor TV series.**

 **With that being said – enjoy!**

 **NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL**

Astrid was absolutely furious. And freezing. And that was a very dangerous combination for a Hofferson. 

She knew that finally accepting going on a date with Steven 'Snotlout' Jorgenson would bite her in the ass. That muttonhead was trying to ask her out for such a long time, that the girl finally agreed, if only to free herself from the horrible pick up lines. He was supposed to attend her volleyball game and then take her out for a dinner. Snotlout, the gentleman he was, didn't come. He sent her a text just before the game saying that something came up but ' _calm down, Babe, I'm gonna pick you up after it finishes'._ Astrid rolled her eyes at the very much disliked nickname but didn't thought much about it. 

And now, it has been an hour since the match ended and Snotlout was nowhere to be seen. She should've expected something like that from him, really. The blonde teen looked at her watch once again and groaned angrily. She winced when she saw her breath. Berk was most definitely not a warm place and standing outside in the middle of the winter in the evening was not pleasant. Astrid shivered slightly and rubbed her arms. She tried calling that jerk once again but he still wasn't answering. Suddenly, a black car drove onto the high school parking lot. It wasn't Snotlout's, she knew that much, and her stomach twisted slightly at the sight. If she died, she was going to haunt Snotlout till the rest of his days. 

The black Camaro stopped a few feet away from her and Astrid wondered if it'd be smart to head back to school. Slowly, not to look suspicious, she took a few steps towards the building. 

"Astrid?" she heard a faint, nasally voice coming from the car. She turned around to see Etran 'Hiccup' Haddock. She recognised the guy from a few of her classes. Hiccup, as everyone called him, was a person that preferred to stay in the shadows. Astrid vaguely remembered the auburn-haired boy attending the same middle school as well. He was a toothpick then and for that he had been one of the main targets of the bullies, with Steven in the lead. She pitied him but did nothing to stop it. Sure, he was a _little_ cute, but Astrid had other things to worry about then, mainly keeping her grades high. High school came around and at first the boy stayed the same, lanky self. But then, after coming back in the junior year, a different Hiccup arrived at the school's door. He was taller, his jaw was sharper and he filled out nicely. Astrid wouldn't notice it if it wasn't for the fact that the person sitting in front of her on maths (yes, you guessed it – Etran) was suddenly blocking her view of the board. After that revelation Astrid had trouble _not_ noticing him, which was more than slightly unnerving.

Hiccup was standing by the open door of his car, uncertain expression on his face. Astrid, relieved that the owner of the car didn't turn out to be some creep (at least for now), came closer. As embarrassing as it'd be, she could always ask him to give her a lift back home. The auburn-haired teen brought a hand to his neck. 

"Um, Snotlout, I mean Steven asked me to d-drive you home." Seeing her surprised face, he backtracked. "I-I mean if you don't want to-"He made a move to return to his car, at which Astrid quickly trotted closer and grabbed his arm gently. Hiccup had a slightly terrified look on his face.

"No, I would be very grateful if you did." She sent him a half-smile. "I was just surprised that _Snotlout_ asked you to do that." At that Hiccup's hand made its way back to his neck.

"Yeah, I mean, he got held up by Uncle Stewart, Steven's dad, and he told me to pick you up, trying to convince me by mentioning some ' _cousins' codex'_ , which sounded completely ridiculous-"

"Wait, you're Snotlout's _cousin_?" Her blue eyes went wide at the revelation. She would've never thought… the two boys were completely different, both in the character and the appearance. Plus, Snotlout was Hiccup's main bully and even now, when the Jorgenson teen stopped doing that to some extent, it was clear that they didn't like each other. "He never mentioned that."

"Figures." The taller teen mumbled under his breath. Astrid shivered once more as the cold, Berk air hit her. Hiccup immediately straightened his back. 

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Here." He went to the other side of the car and opened the door for her, which caused Astrid to slightly raise her eyebrow. It was cute, she'd admit that. Both teens entered the black Camaro and the blonde girl felt her stomach rumbling slightly. She turned her head around to see if Hiccup heard it but fortunately it didn't seem like it. 

"So, um, where do you live?" Hiccup turned on the engine and started backing up the car. Astrid took a strand of her blonde hair and turned it in her fingers, uncertain. Should she ask? 

"Or we could go somewhere? "she proposed. Hiccup definitely didn't expect that, his green eyes going wide. He even stopped the car, which was fortunately still in the parking lot. Astrid had to fight the blush that threatened to escape under the taller teen's intensive gaze. The girl was known to be forward but maybe she was just being pushy now? 

"You want go somewhere… with me?" Astrid nodded, sending him a small smile. 

"Yeah, I mean, Snotlout was supposed to take me out for a dinner and to be honest I'm kind of hungry, so…" she trailed off, shrugging. Hiccup drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. 

"O-okay. Where would you like to go, then?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye and started driving again. 

"Take me somewhere you like." Hiccup nodded hesitantly, muttering something that sounded like ' _right, right'_ under his breath. He looked really stressed which made Astrid worried if maybe she made him feel pressured. She noticed he kept glancing at her from time to time, as if making sure that yes, she was still there. Or maybe she looked weird or something. She's been standing in a wind for some time, her hair must look strange… And her outfit wasn't that nice, either and- wait, why was she worrying about stuff like that anyway? It wasn't like she was on a date with him, right? Well, it kind of depended on how you looked at it… And it wouldn't be so bad for it be a date, she supposed. Astrid was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice Hiccup has pulled up in front of a restaurant. 

"Um, Astrid?" said girl jumped slightly in her seat. She turned to him and saw him gesturing the building behind the car's window. 

"Oh, right. Sorry." The teen felt an unknown wave of embarrassment once more. She never got nervous around boys, why was now any different? Astrid got out of the car and stood before the entrance of the restaurant.

"The Forge?" she looked at Hiccup, questioningly. The taller teen's face flushed slightly at that. 

"It's good. I think so, at least." He opened the front door for her and they entered the building. As soon as she came inside, a delicious smell of home-made food hit her and her stomach reminded her of its presence. The interior instantly took her back to Viking times as that was the well-executed motive of the eatery. Astrid wondered how come she lived in Berk her whole life and she'd never been here before. They came to the front desk of the restaurant at which a buff blonde-haired man was standing. His moustache was tied into two, long braids and he had a small Viking helmet on his head. Upon closer inspection Astrid noticed the man was lacking his left hand, at the place of which there was a metal hook. Upon seeing them, the man smiled widely. 

"Hiccup, what are ya doing 'ere?" the man asked in a thick Scottish accent. Then his eyes caught Astrid and he wiggled his eyebrows slightly, making Hiccup's face red. "Oh, I see." He looked around and frowned. 

"I'm afraid we don't have a free table right now. But ya can still 'ave a take-out from 'ere and a nice, romantic evening somewhere else. Perhaps the arbour?" At that the poor boy's face became even redder and even Astrid felt herself slightly blushing at the man's words. 

"Gobber, um, it's not a d-"Hiccup started weakly. 

"We can do that, thanks." Astrid shot Gobber a smile, ignoring the nervous boy next to her. The man handed them the menus, not before winking at the auburn-haired teen. The two teens picked what they wanted the most, trying their hardest not to look at each other. 

"Righty-ho! I'm going to leave you two _alone."_ After saying that, he left the two teens in an awkward silence. 

"Heh, Gobber." The taller teen chuckled nervously, pointing to the space where the said man was a second ago. Astrid couldn't help but crack a small smile – he was just too cute when he was embarrassed like that. 

"So, you and Gobber… you seem to know each other well?" she asked with a smile still on her face. A smile made its way on Hiccup's face as well. 

"Yeah, he's my dad's best friend." The blonde teen noticed, relieved, that the boy seemed more relaxed. "He's actually my godfather as well." 

Somehow they hit it off from there. With each sentence he seemed more at ease, he stuttered less and he seemed more confident. Astrid found out that Hiccup was funny, smart and a very good person to talk to. She really enjoyed his company and she didn't regret that it was him and not Snotlout that arrived at the parking lot. Their meals came and they didn't even have time to argue about who would pay because Gobber announced in was on the house. When Hiccup tried to protest the only thing he got in response was a good-hearted laugh and a pat on the back. _It's not everyday little Hiccup finds himself a date. Especially not a one so beautiful._

Hiccup didn't say a word to deny it this time. Astrid didn't either. 

They drove to the arbour near Berk's woods just like Gobber suggested. Sure, it wasn't the warmest place to be but as soon as Hiccup noticed Astrid shaking slightly, he offered her his jacket. Even though she protested at first, in the end she accepted it and boy, was she glad – it was so much warmer. The food was great, though the company was even more so in Astrid's mind. They talked and laughed, as if they were old friends catching up. The blonde girl found out that she absolutely adored Hiccup's laugh and his goofy smile. How had this happened that such an interesting, smart person hasn't caught her attention sooner? 

And the fact that he wasn't bad to look at was a plus too. 

Time flew by quickly and soon it turned out to be quite late. Reluctantly the teens got back into the black Camaro and this time Hiccup drove towards Astrid's house, which came into view too soon for her taste. Biting her lip, the girl looked out of the window, thinking. She swiftly grabbed his phone. 

"Astrid, what-" 

"I'm giving you my number." She stated as if it was something obvious. 

"Number?" For Hiccup it didn't seem so obvious apparently. Astrid rolled her eyes slightly. 

"So we can go out sometime." Seeing his expression she added less confident. "If-if you want of course." 

"No, I mean yes. I would love to." Astrid tucked a loose piece of her hair behind her ear… and punched him in the arm, causing Hiccup to yelp. 

"Why would you do that?" the auburn-haired teen exclaimed, rubbing his 'injured' limb. 

"That was for not arriving earlier." He looked at her, his eyes green and wide. Before he managed to say something, she grabbed his collar and kissed him on the cheek. "That was for… everything else. I had a great time. Thank you." He gave her another one of his goofy smiles which she gladly returned. After that she exited the car and waved him goodbye from the porch. Once she came inside, she sighed, content. 

"I take it wasn't as bad as you thought it'd be?" her mother asked from the kitchen. 

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad after all." Astrid smiled widely. She heard her mother chuckling softly. 

"By the jacket you're wearing, am I right to assume it wasn't Steven that you've spent your evening with?" The teen's blue eyes went wide. She didn't realise she was still wearing Hiccup's jacket. Astrid's cheeks flushed as her mother shot her a knowing look. 

"Would you look at the time? I'm going to bed. Goodnight. "she quickly said and ran upstairs. Astrid entered her room, threw herself on the bed and checked her phone. She received some texts from Snotlout asking if his 'dumb' cousin brought her home and when would _their_ date be. She frowned, as she felt her good mood from earlier slipping away. Fortunately, those weren't the only texts Astrid has received. There was another one, from an unknown number. The girl felt herself smiling again. 

_I had a great time too. Hiccup_

 **A/N:**

 **So that's that. I hope you enjoyed it. :) If there are any grammar or spelling mistakes – I apologise. English is not my first language.**

 **I know that the name Etran may seem a bit strange but it actually exists. There are seven people in the world recorded with that name. I just felt it'd fit for Hiccup, as both him and the name are special and a bit extraordinary.**

 **Till next time!**

 **~InsertACreativeNameHere**


	2. Better Than Expected

**So… I'm back. :)** **I wasn't supposed to write any kind of continuation for that oneshot but all the positive feedback motivated me to do so. The initial idea of posting it, was to check if my writing is any good and I want to thank all the people who read my story and liked it.**

 **Sonochu:** **Thank you for your advice regarding my story and I hope that I'll get better. To be honest, comma placement is my problem not only in English, but in my native language as well. That's just something I need to work on. :)** **I was confused, when you wrote that everything is in bold, because I checked it on a few computers and everything seemed to be fine, but then I checked it on my phone and BAM everything was the way you said it was. I don't know how to fix that** _ **yet**_ **but I'll try to work on that too.**

 **I also want to thank** **Midoriko-sama** **for placing my story in favorites. I absolutely** _ **love**_ **your stories as you and a few other writers inspired me to write something of my own. I adore your writing style. It means a lot to me and it's a huge honor.**

 **Thank you for all the other reviews and I'm really glad you liked it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own How to train your dragon – books, movies, nor TV series.**

 **Without further ado – enjoy.**

 **BETTER THAN EXPECTED**

"And she really did that?" 

"Yes, Fish. I already told you that five times." Hiccup groaned inwardly and walked faster to his locker. His chubby, blond friend trotted behind him. 

"Sorry, sorry. It's just… I'm really surprised." When the auburn-haired teen raised his eyebrow, Fishlegs, as that was the other boy's nickname, continued. "It's not everyday my best friend goes on a date with Astrid Hofferson." 

"It wasn't a date, Fredrick." Hiccup rolled his eyes and opened his locker. He still couldn't believe what happened yesterday. He always dreamed of spending some time with Astrid (he had a 'not so secret' crush on her since middle school) but the two teens seemed to be living in two completely different worlds. She was popular, beautiful, funny, smart, just overall perfect – the complete opposite of him. Hiccup was, well, a hiccup. Always messing around, breaking stuff and just generally getting in the way. And yet, she seemed to have enjoyed his company yesterday. But it wasn't a date – why would she want to go out on a date with him, anyway? 

Ridiculous. 

"Really?" Unfortunately, his friend didn't seem convinced. " Then what was it, then?" 

"A casual, platonic meeting of two 'not-strangers'." Hiccup responded dryly with his head behind the locker's door. He picked out the books he needed and closed it. He was met with Fishlegs' unimpressed face. 

"Not-strangers?" he asked with his eyebrow raised. "I swear, you're unbelievable sometimes, _Etran_." 

"I'll take that as a compliment." Hiccup rolled his eyes slightly. 

"She said 'go out', right?" When his friend nodded hesitantly, Fishlegs looked at him smugly. "And usually when a girl and a guy 'go out'," he made quotation marks in the air. "it means they're going on a date." Hiccup groaned and banged his head into his locker's door. Fishlegs could be so _persistent_ at times. 

"You know, 90% of the people are looking at you now." The bigger teen pointed out. 

"90% of me doesn't care." Hiccup mumbled, barely audibly. 

"Even if one of those people was Astrid?" The auburn-haired teen snapped his head upwards and looked around. Not seeing the girl anywhere near, the boy turned back to his friend. Though he was really questioning, if Fishlegs still deserved to be called that. 

"Very funny." He deadpanned. 

"I was being serious, actually." Fishlegs grabbed Hiccup's shoulders and turned him around. Astrid was, indeed, there. She was standing by her own locker with her friend Rosalina, or as everyone called her – Ruffnut. The two girls were engrossed in their conversation. Suddenly, Astrid turned towards him and sent him a smile. She waved her hand slightly and Hiccup returned the gesture. He felt a nudge. 

"Go to her." Fishlegs said from behind him. 

"No, no. I shouldn't. She's with her friend…" He saw Ruffnut saying something to Astrid. Whatever it was, it made Astrid's face a bit red. She said something back to her friend, who only laughed in response. After that, Ruff disappeared in the crowd, leaving her friend by herself. Fishlegs looked at the blonde girl and then at his friend pointedly. Hiccup took a deep breath and nodded to himself. 

"Right, right." He told himself, repositioning his backpack. Fishlegs gave him a reassuring smile and Hiccup started walking towards Astrid. 

He didn't get far, though, as someone slammed him into one of the lockers. 

* * *

Astrid was in a very good mood when she arrived at school. She entered the high school's walls with a smile on her face, which was quite unusual for her. It didn't go unnoticed by her best friend, Ruff. As soon as the other blonde saw her, she flooded her with questions. 

"So, how was your date yesterday?" Ruffnut nudged her friend. She knew how much the Jorgenson boy annoyed Astrid. Since she found out her friend agreed on a date with him, she haven't stopped teasing her about it.

"It was great… because it wasn't with Snotlout." Astrid sent her friend a mysterious smile. 

"Wait… what?" Ruff asked, confused. Astrid debated whether tell the other girl about yesterday's events or not. On one hand, Ruffnut was her best friend and who, if not her, should she tell about her dates and possible crushes (if she could call it that)? On the other hand, Ruff and her twin brother Theodore, by friends called Tuffnut, were also some of Hiccup's old bullies and even though they didn't do that anymore, it still made the situation quite difficult. But Hiccup deserved a second chance and Astrid was willing to risk it. She had a wonderful time with him and she hoped they could repeat that someday. The blonde girl didn't know if he saw it as a date or not, and that was another matter that troubled her. She opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted.

"Hey Babe." The over-confident voice of Steven Jorgenson made her groan in annoyance. The stocky teen tried to sneak an arm around her waist but the girl swiftly grabbed his hand and twisted it painfully.

"I told you not to call me that." She drawled harshly as Snotlout started massaging his hand. 

"But you're my Babe. How else am I supposed to call you?" he looked kind of confused by that. Astrid frowned.

"I'm _no one's_ Babe. Get it to that thick skull of yours." She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a challenging look. Snotlout slapped his face.

"Right, you're angry for yesterday…" he scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry about Hiccup. He's an idiot." He waved his hand, but Astrid narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Actually, we had a great time together." Both Snotlout's and Ruffnut's eyes went wide at that. 

"You went on a date with Hiccup?" the female twin turned to her friend, clearly surprised. 

"It wasn't a date." Snotlout quickly interjected. "He just drove her home. As for _our_ date, though…" he trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows at Astrid. The girl felt herself throwing in her mouth a little. What persuaded her to agree to that, anyway? 

"You lost your chance, Snotlout." Astrid shrugged. "You didn't even send a text to apologize for standing me up. At least your _cousin_ was nice enough to take me out for something to eat and not let me freeze to death." 

"But… it wasn't my fault. Hiccup was supposed to tell you-"

"He did. Don't worry about that." She looked at her watch and felt somehow relieved. "Look, I need to go get my books. We can talk about that later." Snotlout's face was a mix of anger and disappointment. 

"Fine." He answered gruffly. Astrid gladly pulled Ruffnut along with her and went towards her locker. Fortunately enough, Steven's one was in a different part of the school. When they arrived, Ruffnut was smiling at her strangely.

"What?" Astrid asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hiccup, huh?" her friend said in a suggestive tone. The girl rolled her eyes. 

"His name is Etran."

" _Someone_ has a crush." Ruffnut teased her friend. Astrid was kind of glad, though. As long as it was teasing and not insulting- let her be. Even though Astrid wasn't sure what her feeling towards the certain green-eyed teen were, just yet. She was about to respond, when she saw the boy in question standing by his locker with his blonde friend. What was his name – Freddie? Frank? Something like that, anyway. Astrid sent Hiccup a warm smile and waved her hand. He responded with a shy smile of his own and waved back. 

"What are you waiting for? Go to your boyfriend." Ruff said, chuckling. Astrid felt her face heating up at the words.

"He's not my-" Astrid stopped as she saw Ruffnut walking away, still laughing at her friend. She could be so unbelievable sometimes. Astrid groaned. "Uugh" 

Should she go to him? She wanted to, but wouldn't it look like she was being pushy? Maybe he didn't want her to came to him? Astrid watched, as Hiccup had some kind of a conversation with his friend. Hiccup shifted his backpack and started going in her direction. A smile started making its way on her face, but it quickly disappeared as she saw Snotlout coming from behind him and shoving him into one of the lockers. The girl ran to the two boys, her bag long forgotten on the floor. 

"…only suppose to drive her home!" Snotlout grabbed Hiccup by the collar harshly. Astrid quickly went between the two boys and stuck out her hands in both directions, making the stockier teen release Hiccup.

"What are you _doing_ Snotlout?!" she clenched her fists angrily. Hiccup had his lips pursed tightly and his eyes were ice cold. 

"He stole you away from me!" Steven shouted, furious, pointing to his cousin. Astrid felt her blood boil. "You're mine." Okay, _now_ he crossed a line. She told him numerous times that she wasn't something to be owned but he still seemed not to get that. She raised her fist to give him a piece of her mind. 

But she was too late. 

Snotlout stumbled backwards, covering his nose. Astrid turned around, surprised, to see an equally surprised Hiccup with his right fist still in the air. He was so shocked, he didn't notice a fist coming towards his own face. He banged the back of head in the lockers behind him. A crowd of students gathered around them. Snotlout looked absolutely livid and his, obviously, broken nose was bleeding heavily. Astrid was about to kick him, but someone grabbed her from behind. 

"Hey!" she exclaimed, trying to break away. 

"Miss Hofferson, what is the meaning of this?!" she was released only to come face to face with the principal. He was looking at her, with his arms crossed and pursed lips. 

_Well, that's just great._

* * *

"Thanks." Hiccup mumbled as Astrid handed him a bag of ice. He hissed when he applied it to his swollen face. He was lucky he didn't get a concussion. They were waiting outside the principal's office. Astrid had already been inside and the principal, although not happy about the whole situation, gave her only two days of detention. Snotlout and Hiccup would probably end up with a much bigger punishment. 

"Does it hurt a lot?" Astrid asked softly, looking at her hands. 

"No, it's- it's fine." He shrugged and tried to smile but his face quickly turned into a grimace from pain. Silence came over them. 

"Thank you." When he looked at her confused, she added. "for standing up for me." 

"Sure, no problem." 

"It's my fault… Snotlout must've snapped when he found out, that I went on a date with you instead of him." Astrid said and instantly clapped a hand over her mouth. 

"A date?" Hiccup's voice cracked slightly. Oh God, why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? 

"W-wasn't it a date?" she asked uncertainly. Maybe he doesn't like her and was just being polite yesterday… 

"I would want it to be a d-date. I didn't think _you_ would." He looked at her from the corner of his eye. Astrid leaned in and softly pecked the cheek that wasn't swollen from the hit. The auburn-haired teen's face flushed red. Astrid smiled and tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. 

"I think that answers that." The office's door opened and Snotlout came out. His face looked even worse than Hiccup's and Astrid felt kind of bad. Maybe he finally learned his lesson, at least. He didn't utter a word, just glared at the couple and walked away. The whole situation must've stung his ego badly. 

"Mr. Haddock. The principal is ready to see you." The school's secretary said and Hiccup stood up. Astrid stood up as well and reached for his hand. 

"Good luck." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. The secretary made an impatient noise and the girl let go. 

"See you tomorrow?" Astrid asked hopefully. Hiccup leaned on the door frame and smiled. 

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." 

**A/N:**

 **There** _ **won't**_ **be any more to this, at least for now. As I mentioned before, this oneshot was written only to see if someone likes the way I write and if I was any good at it. I** _ **am**_ **in process of writing a story, a longer one this time. It's something I've been working on for some time now. I don't want to start posting it before I finish it, to avoid any kind of Hiatuses and writer's block, so you won't have to wait. I hope (I really do), that it'll come out in a month or so, but I have a lot on my plate right now and I hardly ever find time to write anything.**

 **R &R**

 **Till next time!**

 **~InsertACreativeNameHere**


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